Sumter YDC PBIS Employee Recognition

Story support from Felecia Howard of the Sumter YDC

Recently, the Sumter Youth Development Campus (Sumter YDC) held a Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Wellness Tea-Breakfast social for staff to thank them for all of the incredible work they have done for the youth in the facility. Sumter YDC Director Keith Wynn, Assistant Director Tomeika Dudley, Security Director Maris Kellogg and PBIS Interim Dirctor Felecia Howard were present to provide hot tea, a healthy breakfast, and words of encouragement for  upcoming fall events.

Bonding experiences such as the Wellness Tea-Breakfast help to improve staff morale which encourages engagement and improves work production. Employees who are involved and working together helps to add to cohesion and team success. The feedback from the Wellness Tea-Breakfast was incredible with much praise of the food presentation and of the great group discussion among staff members who attended.  Special guests to the event included Arisha Dancy-Curriculum Specialist, Education, Tammy Anderson-Curriculum Specialist, Education, and Aishia Hunter-Cone, Program Coordinator. 

PBIS is an evidence-based, data-driven framework proven to reduce disciplinary incidents, increase a school’s sense of safety and support improved academic outcomes. More than 23,000 U.S. schools are implementing PBIS and saving countless instructional hours otherwise lost to discipline. The premise of PBIS is that continual teaching, combined with acknowledgement or feedback of positive over-the-counter student behavior, will reduce unnecessary discipline and promote a climate of greater productivity, safety and learning. PBIS schools apply a multi-tiered approach to prevention, using disciplinary data and principles of behavior analysis to develop school-wide, targeted and individualized interventions and supports to improve the school environment for all students.